


The Spell She Casts

by Kyrene3



Series: 30 Day Challenge (as I finish and skip around) [2]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Belle/Original Female Character (onesided), F/F, F/M, Jealousy, Versailles - Freeform, not historically accurate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 06:06:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11224887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyrene3/pseuds/Kyrene3
Summary: When in Versailles, a woman from Adam's past takes a special interest in Belle. Insecurity and jealousy ensue.





	The Spell She Casts

**Author's Note:**

> This is absolutely inspired by BloodonUrsuline's The Beast You've Made of Me. I typed it up a few weeks ago so it was more so inspired by the conversations we had in her reviews, instead of Chapter 3. You should read it. If I could remember how to link it I would. 
> 
> Thank you to my beta Sobriquet, as always. She's also the one who said "Madame" as a title was OK since a lot of titled women, if married, were still called "Madame". And I love the sound of it. 
> 
> This was for the prompt "Jealousy"

Adam probably should have expected this.

Madame Jacqueline has a reputation like most of the French courtiers. A widow at a young age, she dances around the notion of remarriage, and manages to hold on to her castle. And she, like Adam, is one of the few who quite resisted the King when it came to permanently living in Versailles. And she, like Adam once did, occasionally finds pleasure with the occasional man passing through. The issue is she, like Adam, much prefers the company of women.

At the moment, the company of Adam’s wife to be exact.

He really shouldn’t be surprised. Jacqueline has no reason to believe that Adam is any different than any of the other courtiers around them. He’s hardly the first one to take a common woman as a lover, hardly the first one to marry her, but the others tend to take them, impregnate them and then discard them… which is usually where Jacqueline comes in.

And she has no reason to believe, considering who he once was, that Adam of all people will be any different.

He could imagine how this happened as he sees them laugh and interact. He watches as Jacqueline reels his wife in with little touches to her arms, her thigh, her cheek. The people here go from treating Belle like an outsider to be shunned to a spectacle to be watched and toyed with.

They sneer and they leer and Adam has attempted to shield her as best as he can, but unfortunately he can’t remain at her side at all times. The King eventually pulled him aside and insisted Belle would be fine on her own. (Adam finds himself wanting to thank the Enchantress, as awkward as it is, for whatever magic she did to keep the King from demanding his presence in Versailles permanently: “I didn’t curse you just to throw you two to them.”)

And Jacqueline, the smart, beautiful, real Jacqueline, would come to her rescue.

He shouldn’t feel like this. Belle’s love for him is the kind that breaks curses; he knows he doesn’t have to worry. But Jacqueline has her own sort of spell that she casts, he knows it firsthand. And worst of all, she has no cruel past. She will manipulate and use her feminine wiles against the men of Versailles, but when it comes to women she will do everything she can to protect them. He used to scoff at it, now he simply finds it admirable. 

Her love of women is real in more ways than simply sex. Once when she was visiting his castle he’d caught her teaching Plumette to read. In fact, she and Belle would make quite a pair. (The old him would be planning all sorts of things for the three of them, but the Adam of now seems quite convinced he’s about to be left behind.)

“Ah, there you are, husband. Is everything alright?” Belle’s concern is true, Agathe or no; this trip has had them quite nervous.

He smiles reassuringly as he walks up, leans down to kiss her forehead. “We are free to leave whenever we wish, my love.”

“Whenever you wish? How interesting. Although, you always have had a way with the King.” Jacqueline’s voice is playful, as always, but clear with innuendo.

Adam stretches his lips in a parody of a smile. That would be an opening for him to point out that it is in fact her who is able to come and go as she pleases because of her way with the King. But playing these games has become tiring, and he’s simply not in the mood.

A soft hand finds his and he allows himself to be pulled down to sit beside his Belle, clearly trying to break the tension that is thick in the air.

“Madame-“

“Jacqueline.” The other woman grabs his wife’s other hand in hers, and for a moment he may as well not exist. “I have insisted. We are friends, aren’t we?”

Belle smiles. “Yes, of course. Jacqueline was telling me about some of the girls she has staying with her. Apparently she teaches them to read. We were discussing the merits of educating all women, schools and the like.”

He lets his guard drop for a moment and he’s quite sure he’s radiating with pride now. “Belle wishes to create a school for the women from her village. We’ve already had a few of the younger girls come through, and she holds class in the library.”

“Ah, yes,” Jacqueline responds, and it occurs to Adam that her hands are still wrapped up in Belle’s. “That horrid little village, Belle was telling me all about it! To think, this lovely girl, odd!”

Ah, so they’d been talking for longer than Adam originally thought. He grips her hand tighter, linking their fingers together. Belle tenses, bringing their hands to her lap, pulling her hand away from the other woman’s and placing it over their linked fingers. “Yes, well, they sing a different tune now.”

“I do wonder what you think of all this.” Jacqueline directs at him. “I don’t quite remember you caring if women could read. In fact, I don’t quite remember you caring about much of anything at all.”

Adam narrows his eyes. It’s fair. “Things change.”

It’s clear she does not believe him, but she can see how clearly Belle is pulling away from her in response to the tension between the Madame and Adam. So the Madame concedes, leaves not too soon after, a nod towards him and a kiss to Belle’s cheek.

Hardly a goodbye; Adam knows they’ll see her again before they leave.

Later that night he holds Belle close to his chest, the whole thing still on his mind. She’s such a curious thing, since they began knowing each other more intimately. He’s thankful for what he’s learned about women, just so he could make her happy. In fact, that night he may have used every trick he knew to bring her to climax again and again before she finally passed out in exhaustion.

But he is the only man she’s ever been with, and he remembers what it was when sex was new and exciting. Perhaps she would want to explore, perhaps she did have an interest in Jacqueline but didn’t know what to make of it. He could never deny her anything, would never hold her back, she could stay with Jacqueline if that’s what she wants, or Jacqueline could come to them and Adam would allow…

“Was she your lover?”

He startles at Belle’s voice, convinced she’d been asleep. He blinks for a moment because… well, Belle could be talking about anyone. He’d warned her of this, in fact he’s quite sure the entire household had warned her. “I… what?”

“Jacqueline.” She sits up, pulling the blankets to cover her chest. “I know you warned me. Everyone warned me. And I know you have a past. It’s just… all these people, making these insinuations, and watching me like they know something I don’t… And Jacqueline seemed so kind and normal… but the moment you arrived it, well, it became quite clear her kindness was just some sort of ploy to… I don’t know. Get your attention? Make you… jealous?” His dear wife sighs deeply, clearly embarrassed. “I sound so foolish.”

“No no no,” he replies, sitting up to stroke her hair in order to calm her. No, he’d been the fool. And he clearly hasn’t changed as much as she thought. So wrapped up in his own insecurities he hadn’t even thought to think how any of this would make her feel. “Yes, she was a lover of mine. But… my love, I’m afraid you’ve misread the situation.”

She’s so distressed, he holds in the laugh that almost bursts from him at the ridiculousness of it all.

“You see, while she does sleep with men occasionally, it’s usually… well, her tastes lay more with the fairer sex.”

Belle’s eyes widen. “So the ladies in her home…”

He laughs. “Not all of them. If you’ve noticed, the court does not tend to treat its women too kindly. She fancies her home a haven. But yes, some of them are.”

“So… when she was talking to me…”

“Oh, she was being genuine.” He strokes her cheek as he speaks. “You are quite a treasure, and I believe she was seeing if you needed saving from your lecherous husband who would take advantage of your naiveté. And before you ask, yes, she absolutely wants you for a lover.”

Belle sits in shock and Adam is reminded how very sheltered she used to be. She recovers quickly, “Is that why you were so… tense?” A sly smile comes across her face. “Were you jealous?”

He pokes her belly. “You’re enjoying this.”

She laughs. “Silly man, you’re my husband, I loved you when you were furry with horns… Did you think I would leave you?”

It all seems quite foolish when she phrases it that way… and yet… “You know… if you ever are... curious. If you ever… I’ll never hold you back.”

She’s serious again, and looks deeply in his eyes before nodding. “I’ll always be honest with you, I promise you that. And I expect the same.”

He sighs in relief. While a denial that there would ever be a need may have felt nice, he wouldn’t have entirely believed her.

Her expression becomes sly once more. “And if I ever do… become curious, please know I would always want you there for any… learning I may do.”

Adam can’t help but grin back at her before grabbing her and pulling her under him. The minx.

**Author's Note:**

> So on Jacqueline: There should absolutely be more to her name. Like Madame Jacqueline de....something. But I am so not French and I'm not all that familiar with French history and I didn't want to mess with that. But I consider her a Countess. 
> 
> -She absolutely taught Adam how to make a lady feel good, and if he wasn't willing to learn she would have chucked him right out of bed, Prince or no. I figure it's likely he would have been a pretty selfish lover but I like to think he's good at it now. 
> 
> -Lumiere used to think she was the bee's knees until it became clear that she had every intention of spiriting Plumette away with her. When she comes to visit Lumiere and Adam glower a lot. But she thinks Maurice is adorable because I said so. 
> 
> -Finally, yes in my head she is Natalie Dormer because I am that predictable.


End file.
